Music
Maria Ewing
1950–2022 · opera singer (mezzo-soprano and soprano)
Detroit-born opera star, celebrated as Carmen and Salome, who was discovered at Oakland University's Meadow Brook festival and made her debut with a Detroit company in 1970.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Detroit area, Michigan
aged 71- Birth name
- Maria Louise Ewing
- Also known as
- Lady Hall
- Detroit years
- 1950–late 1960s, later years–2022
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Maria Ewing was born in Detroit, the daughter of a Dutch-born mother and an electrical engineer at a steel company. She sang in the alto section of the chorus at Jared W. Finney High School and entered singing competitions, and at 17 began lessons with the local coloratura soprano Marjorie Gordon. Gordon urged her to audition for the Meadow Brook Music Festival at Oakland University, where she sang Maddalena in Rigoletto under the young conductor James Levine, a meeting that launched her career. After studying at the Cleveland Institute of Music she made her professional debut in 1970 as Rosina in The Barber of Seville, staged in Detroit by the company now known as Michigan Opera Theatre. She went on to the Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne and Covent Garden, famous for intensely acted roles such as Carmen and Salome. She died of cancer at her home near Detroit in 2022.
Highlights
- Signature roles: Carmen, Salome, Rosina, Dorabella, Blanche
- Professional debut in Detroit as Rosina (1970)
- Discovered by James Levine at the Meadow Brook Music Festival
- Starred at the Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne and Covent Garden
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Performed here · late 1960s
Meadow Brook Music Festival (Oakland University)
Summer festival on Oakland University's Rochester campus where she sang Maddalena in Rigoletto under James Levine. Its outdoor venue continues today as Meadow Brook Amphitheatre.
Studied here · 1960s
Jared W. Finney High School
Status being checked
East side Detroit high school where she sang alto in the chorus.